Cyber Warfare: The Black Hole of Online Crime [VIDEO SPECIAL]

Met Police have warned web users about the rise of online fraud.

Christmas is coming, and in the build-up millions of people across the UK will be shopping for presents online. But the Met Police has warned web users that it is a time when many could also become the victims of fraud.

Earlier this year a Home Affairs Select Committee report listed the danger of cyber-assault as a higher threat to the UK than a nuclear attack. And experts inside the technology and security industries admit that they're struggling to catch up with the cyber criminals.

Businesses and individuals can be plundered from anywhere in the world as online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. With cyber-crime costing the UK an estimated £81bn in the last financial year, and reported crimes up by 60%, the overall effect that such attacks have on the country cannot be underestimated.

But are we really falling into an online black hole of unseen and unstoppable internet crime? In a video special, IBTimes UK looks to demystify the dangers that businesses and individuals face from online attackers, and what steps can be taken to be more secure.